


Fine by Him

by SecretScribbles



Series: Fish Tales [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fine by Him, Fish Tales, Fresh Out of Water, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 09:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12603720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretScribbles/pseuds/SecretScribbles
Summary: Levi is getting a little too old for the rescue business. His body tells him every day that it's time to rest, but his achievements say otherwise. Just what had he done that earned him a good retirement?





	Fine by Him

**Author's Note:**

> I told you there'd be more!
> 
> This is going to be part of the Fresh Out of Water Series that I've decided to call Fish Tales because I'm sleep deprived and I think it's terribly clever. MWAHA. Enjoy! There's more to come later!

 

 

 

**Fine by Him**

  
  


The echoes of footsteps rang out louder than anything in the entire building. It wasn’t unusual, seeing as it was just after dark, but the eeriness of it all remained. Silently, step by step, Levi dragged his tired body through his aquarium one last time for his rounds before finally giving in and going home. Hours upon hours of paperwork, rescues, shelling clams, watching the frylings, dealing with needy, ungrateful park patrons- it was all so exhausting to have to deal with on a daily basis. 

 

A cramp in his calf was what finally pushed Levi to sit down in one of the smaller viewing rooms, but he cursed at the pain, huffing irritably at the sign that his body was getting too old for this line of work. He was growing more irate because of that fact than anything else as he gingerly limped to a seat in the middle of the audience, determined to prove that he could still stand long enough to make it to the center of the room despite his tormented body screaming at him.

 

Levi huffed out a long, tired sigh as he gracelessly plopped down into a seat and groaned at yet another dull ache from the landing. He pondered for a bit at just how long he had had to have been working like this in order to be hurt from a simple seat. Years, he realized. Just about over half of his life. Pushing harder and harder every day until finally, at this precise moment, Levi was left to face his past decisions as his backside chastised him for sitting down without slowing.

 

“I’m getting too old for this shit,” he muttered, then leaned back with an even heavier sigh to try and find a more comfortable way to sit. Levi growled. Eren wouldn’t have this problem.

 

Nor would Armin or Mikasa. They were all young, still fully-abled people, all insistent on helping the world one body of water at a time. A smirk crawled over Levi’s face as he related to that flaming passion from his youth, and found that it still burned to this day. If anything, those kids were a reason for him to believe his work was worth absolutely anything. True, there may have been a time or two when Levi probably should have taken a less  _ adventurous _ path in his rescues and yes; he probably should be teaching his team better, safer ways to do them as well but… this isn’t working.

 

Levi shook his head. It was far too soon to be thinking of retirement, but the longer he sat there, the more Levi knew it would be an inevitability. It was becoming too painful to stay on his feet all day, and there were times when he couldn’t help in rescues anymore either because of a bad back or knee day. Like it or not, Levi would have to come to terms with his aging body sooner rather than later. 

 

Still though. It felt like he still had so much left to do, so much more he could have done! It was too soon to throw in the towel now. There was still some fire left in him that couldn’t be so easily snuffed out.

 

Another hefty sigh rolled out of Levi as he bent over to massage his angered calf. What all had he done so far in his career? In the grand scheme of things, he couldn’t really think of much. Sure, people called them whenever an aquatic friend needed help of the rescuing nature, and okay, yeah, their funding had been increased because of his team’s findings but really, the biggest thing he could think of was the fact that he had turned his hospital- his wonderful, established, dignified hospital- into a theme park for kids to poke at the glass and scream at his patients. What a legacy to live off of, huh?

 

Anger and frustration boiled around in his veins as Levi gave up on his calf and rested his elbows over his knees. This couldn’t be it. There had to be more.

 

Sloshing.

 

Clicking, squeaking, more sloshing, bubbles-

 

Levi lifted his head to see Bean swimming as fast as he could behind the viewing glass with his father, Jean, chasing close behind. There was a wide grin on the older mer’s face as he chased his son, and Bean’s matching smirk could be seen when he wasn’t using his arms to swim away faster. They circled and sped and shot between rocks and plants and everything in between, until finally, the two swam off out of sight from the viewing room’s window. Levi smirked at their playfulness, shaking his head as he prepared to stand and finish his rounds, when Jean came scrambling back into view.

 

This time, the father looked a little panicked and overwhelmed, and without the sight of his son, Levi’s apprehension grew as well. Before that fear could swell any further, however, every last one of the frylings came bursting into sight chasing right behind Jean. Sonny, Historia, Maria, Moblit, Rosie, Sina and even Marcel came crashing into the retreating mer and tackled him to the ground just out of sight behind the low wall restraining the glass, with only the sight of Jean’s claw flailing about in a desperate attempt to get free. Slowly, behind everybody else, Bean came back into the scene curiously biting his claw at the sight of his downed father, completely trapped beneath the squirming bodies of his siblings.

 

He couldn’t help it. It was just too good. So Levi smiled.

 

The frylings wrestled with Jean for a few more minutes, playfully biting and scratching at him until Jean begged mercy and admitted defeat against his children. Quite theatrically, he sprawled out along the floor of the habitat and croaked out a death moan that even Levi could understand, and laid there in utter failure while the offspring rang out cheers of victory. It wasn’t until a much louder, much more shrill squeak cried out that the frylings finally left their crushed opponent and followed the callings of their respective mothers for bedtime.

 

For a moment, Jean simply stayed on the ground, smiling up to the surface as he caught his breath and forcing Levi to stand up in order to check on the mer hidden behind the low wall. The movement caught Jean’s eye, and he snapped his head to see Levi standing in the middle of the viewing room. The two stilled, not really sure if moving was possible at the moment or not, until Jean snorted out a grin’s worth of bubbles. 

 

Without any other prompting, Jean stretched up back into the open water and dusted off the remnants of mud on his scales. He shot Levi another smile, playful and coy, earning a scoff in return. Jean snickered at the reaction, but soon enough, his eyes softened to the ground, and after a thought or two, Jean lifted his head to give a thankful nod to the man who had given him his family. Levi said nothing, but nodded as well. Then, with nothing else to say, Jean swam off to tuck his children in for the night.

 

Levi stared at the empty water for a long time. 

 

That had been his work. Hard work.  _ Good _ work. That had been everything he had ever dreamed of come true. That was a family safe and sound and happy and thriving; something that never would have happened had he not been there to protect it.

 

That, at least, was something to be proud of. That was worth the old bones, the tired muscles, the achy body. That was worth everything, and most certainly worth earning an honorable retirement.

 

However… 

 

Levi stretched his arms high into the air and groaned out another sigh as the muscles and tendons popped in relief, and slowly, he started down the steps to finish his rounds. His body may be old and creaky, but that didn’t mean his spirit was, and if creating more families like that meant an extra aspirin here and there; well that was fine by him.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I actually got a chance to type this out on a computer and knocked it out in, like, two hours I feel so accomplished omg. I have a lot more short stories to add to these little fish babies because 1. I couldn't fit it into Fresh without dragging it out too long and 2. I couldn't let go of this AU, so you get to ride it out with me yaaaaysomeonestopme...
> 
> Tell me what you think! I love hearing from you guys :]


End file.
